GE Wants Google Glass for Christmas

General Electric is testing Google Glass, to see if the smart eyewear could help field service and other employees get things done faster and more efficiently by working hands-free, according to the research leader in GE’s software unit. If widely adopted, such technology could save the field service industry as much as $1 billion annually starting in 2017, one research firm believes.

“We’re definitely looking at where are those potential values… to bring this technology to people in the field effectively,” Arnie Lund, who heads GE’s Connected Experience Labs, told CIO Journal Thursday. Field engineers who have their “hands deep inside a jet engine” find it difficult to stop their work to check information on a computer, he said. “It’s a big burden to put things down and go to where your laptop is to look something up.”

GE research chief Arnie Lund in regular, everyday glasses

Google Glass features a data-displaying translucent screen positioned over the user’s right eye. Users control Glass via voice, head movements, and a touchpad on the frame. GE and other companies are high on the wearable technology because it can reduce interruptions associated with pausing manual work to search for information online.

Google is still working on the technology, but has made available a limited number of pairs to companies like GE, developers and assorted digerati to test in the field — at $1,500 a pop. The company plans on rolling Glass out to the public in 2014.

GE is not currently testing Glass in the field, partly because it only has three pairs. Employees use them in the company’s prototyping lab, as well as around the office, to search for information and communicate with each other. But in the next few years, Mr. Lund said he expects GE engineers will use Glass to search through digitized instruction manuals on how to diagnose and repair industrial machines. Mr. Lund also said Glass’ video camera will let employees live stream their work to remote colleagues. For example, Glass-wearing seasoned employees could provide instruction to newer employees on how to repair engines and other machines. Companies could also run real-time analytics against the feed to compare it to proper procedures for maintenance and repairs and alert employees when they’re doing something wrong.

Challenges beyond limited availability and current cost hound Glass. Mr. Lund said the voice activated Glass is hard to control in a noisy environment. He said he would also like a ruggedized version of Glass—a Google Goggle, perhaps?– to use in industrial facilities. Mr. Lund said he has ordered six more pairs of Glass, which he expects to receive by Christmas. Eventually GE will build and pair prototype software with Glass for testing on machines that simulate real-world scenarios in a lab.

Angela McIntyre, a Gartner Inc. analyst who covers augmented reality technologies, said that smart glasses could save field service businesses as much as $1 billion a year annually. She said Glass-using employees could fit more service calls into a work day, boosting service revenues. Also, companies can cut travel costs by using Glass to loop in veteran staff for ad-hoc advice.

Companies in other sectors are interested in the potential for wearable computers. Mike Bahorich, CTO of Apache Corp. told CIO Journal via email the energy company is exploring ways to use smart glasses to facilitate improved training and quality control of oil and gas field operations.

William Morris, associate chief medical information officer of Cleveland Clinic, said caregivers are using Glass to chat, and check email and weather. But these employees don’t use Glass in clinical practice because it doesn’t comply with HIPAA regulations that protect patient information. Once the industry works through privacy issues, physicians will use Glass to view radiology images during surgery, while nurses will access patient information, he said. “It’s a fascinating, disruptive technology,” Mr. Morris said. “But you need to have the appropriate checks and balances.”

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